


Replacing the Sun with a Candle

by HoopyFrood



Category: All Elite Wrestling, Professional Wrestling, 新日本プロレス | New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Genre: Absent Characters, Angst, Complicated Relationships, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Infidelity, Episode Related, Flawed characters, Heartache, Introspection, Lost Love, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Pining, Trying to move on, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 08:13:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25347523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoopyFrood/pseuds/HoopyFrood
Summary: Everyone pales in comparison to Kota. But maybe that’s okay. Post- Being the Elite ep. 211.
Relationships: Ibushi Kota/Kenny Omega, Kenny Omega/Adam Page
Comments: 3
Kudos: 37





	Replacing the Sun with a Candle

Nothing ever good comes from comparing the people you’ve loved with each other.

In Kenny’s experience, it leads to nothing more than sleepless nights spent staring at the ceiling dwelling on ultimately inconsequential things that, at 2am, mean more than they actually do. Fresh flowers sent to your workplace every Monday aren’t a prerequisite for a healthy relationship, just like a forgotten date night isn’t the sign of a bad one. It demeans those who have been brave enough to bare their souls to you, makes their devotion and affection, or lack thereof, a game, a _competition_ between past and present.

But when you’ve loved someone like Kota Ibushi it’s hard not to compare.

Theirs was a love that many would say only comes around once in a lifetime, a spiralling epic of passion and heartbreak that most people only ever experience second hand through the words or brushstrokes of someone else.

When you’ve already had that sort of perfection, anything that comes after will always, naturally, pale in comparison.

In hindsight, he and Adam never really stood a chance.

The very definition of _it’s complicated_ from the first touch that lingered a second too long and doomed as soon as Kenny dropped to his knees, hands reaching for Adam’s belt.

Because for every soft smile shared outside of a wrestling ring, there’s an irritated push inside of one and for every expertly executed tag-team move, there’s a night spent backstage seeking out anyone else’s company but each other’s.

It’s a constant push and pull, a tangled web that’s only holding its shape due to the sheer number of knots riddled throughout.

Does he love Adam? Of course he does. Sometimes when Kenny’s panting into Adam’s skin, their legs tangled, he thinks _I’d kill for this man_.

But does he ache to hold him in his arms when they’re apart? Do their eyes always find each other in a crowded room? Does he want to wake up every day for the rest of his life next to him?

No.

And maybe that’s okay.

Because Kenny’s been there before, he’s had that all-consuming love that carves itself into your bones, and where did that land him? An ocean away and in someone else’s bed.

He often thinks about the day it finally fell apart with Kota for good. How he held out a hand to him, softly said _come with me_ , only for Kota to look away and say _I can’t_. Kenny knew what he really meant when he said that. He meant _I won’t_. Because there’s nothing Kota Ibushi, the Golden Star, _can’t_ do.

That day haunts him. _Kota_ haunts him.

Sometimes he wonders who is haunting Adam.

Perhaps that makes them a perfect match. Both of them missing something, someone, that outshines the small sliver of happiness, no, not happiness, _contentment_ , they’ve managed to find in each other.

Kenny is roughly shaken awake, his head knocking back against the hotel room door from where he had slid down against it who knows how many hours ago.

He blearily opens his eyes to Adam crouching down in front of him. His cheeks are flushed an attractive pink and his curls are messy like someone’s been running their hands through them. Kenny’s hit with a pang of affection as his heart trips over itself, missing a beat.

“What are you doing?” Adam says, his whiskey heavy breath ghosting across Kenny’s senses.

“I thought we were going out for a drink,” he manages through a dry, uncooperative mouth.

Adam blinks at him for a several seconds with complete incomprehension

“Fuck. _Shit_ ,” he says, dropping his head down between them briefly before looking back up. “We were meant to meet at 8:30, weren’t we? I’m so sorry man, I completely forgot.”

“It’s okay,” Kenny assures him, struggling to his feet with a groan. He stumbles into the wall and Adam steadies him with a hand to his shoulder.

“Have you been sitting here the entire night?” Adam asks.

“Not my best idea,” Kenny admits. “Did you end up going on your own or…?”

“I actually bumped into Dax and Cash,” Adam begins, excitement lighting up his features in a way Kenny rarely sees anymore. “We got talking and lost track of time. They’ve got some fucking wild stories, man, let me tell ya. Great guys, the pair of ‘em.”

Kenny clenches his jaw and looks away down the hallway. One of the overhead fluorescent lights by the stairwell flickers ominously. “Right.”

Adam frowns. “Do you want to come in? I’m pretty tired so I was just going to go straight to bed.”

“No, it’s fine. Glad you had a good night,” he bites back.

He turns to leave but Adam grabs his wrist and none-too gently tugs him into his arms.

“I’m sorry I forgot to meet you. You should have called. It would’ve been nice to have you there,” he says softly and Kenny finds his resolve melting. “Could’ve apologised for the beer thing in person,” Adam adds and Kenny’s tentative smile drops into an impassive line.

“What’s wrong now?” Adam asks, irritation creeping into his tone.

“Nothing. You’re right. Like I said before, I overreacted.”

Adam nods once, an awkward and stilted thing, before leaning in to meet Kenny in a kiss.

Kenny grimaces at the bitter taste of whiskey on Adam’s tongue and tries to focus on the heat and feel of him instead.

“Spend the night with me,” Adam murmurs against Kenny’s lips.

Kenny pulls away and sighs dramatically

“Well if you _insist_ ,” he says as if he’s doing Adam a favour. 

Adam rolls his eyes before slipping out his keycard and unlocking the door, lips quirked ever so slightly up.

“You can use the shower first,” Adam offers.

With Kota he saw a future, but with Adam he sees a hotel room with one bed, Adam’s tag-team belt resting on top of his luggage. He sees them elbowing each other out of the way in the small en-suite, jostling for space in front of the mirror. 

And maybe that’s for the best, because if he’s busy with the present then he can’t long for the past.


End file.
